15 Facts That Will Change How You See Your Dog

Posted Dec 31, by Val Liarikos

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Moose the dog was a Jack Russell Terrier most famous for his portrayal of Eddie Crane, the dog on the sitcom Frasier. He was born on Christmas Eve, 1990 and died on June 22, 2006 after a long and storied career. While he was the youngest puppy in the litter, he was also the largest, and considered to be a troublemaker by its owner.

He was trained for 6 months and landed the role of Eddie. He had the ability to fix on Kelsey Grammer with a long hard stare and it became a sight gag on the show. The dog became so popular that he got more fan mail than any of the human actors on the show!

This Japanese Akita was named Hachiko, and he has displayed one of the most remarkable signs of loyalty that any dog ever has. He was taken in by a University of Tokyo professor when he was less than a year old.

For the next year, Hachiko would show up at the Shibuya Train station to greet his owner. This routine would suddenly end on May 1925, when the professor didn't return. The professor died due to an unexpected cerebral hemorrhage. For the next NINE years, the dog waited every day for the professor to return.

At first, people were not friendly about the dog. In 1932, however, a news outlet ran a story on Hachiko, and people began bringing him food and treats. The dog would show up every day at the precise time when the train was due.

Shortly after, a student of the dog's former owner followed Hachiko and learned about the dog's remarkable loyalty. He published a number of articles about it, and the dog became a national symbol for loyalty. He was held up as an example of family and national loyalty, particularly to the emperor.

If this story sounds kinda familiar, it's because it has been picked up by various pop-culture products. None as overt as the 2009 Richard Gere movie called Hachi: A Dog's Tale.

Man’s best friend has learned quite a bit from him! Reseachers have found that most dogs understand around 250 words and gestures, can count up to 5, and perform simple mathematical calculations. Using tests designed to demonstrate the development of language, pre-language, and basic arithmetic in human children, these researchers found that the average dog is much more than a poop machine/stick retriever.

Using the data, they compiled a list of the most intelligent and least intelligent breeds using information from obedience classes. Bordor collies and retrievers were rated among the most intelligent while hounds and terriers were the least bright. According to Professor Stanley Coren, “the average dog is about as bright linguistically as a human two-year old.”

A great Dane by the name of George is the tallest dog ever recorded. George started out his life as a puppy with oversize paws. Eventually, he would grow into those paws. At five months old George was already the size of a Labrador and he was growing more than a pound a day!

Now George is a 7-ft long dog and weighs about 252 pounds. His Guinness record was for being 43 inches tall from paw to shoulder. Despite being so tall, the great Dane is seriously afraid of one of the world’s smallest dog: a Chihuahua.

After George’s status was made Guinness-official, his owners, Christie and Dave Nasser, were invited to go on the Oprah show with their dog. They were given a nice room to stay in with all the luxuries such as a sitting room, dining room, and bar.

The Nassers had a king-size bed to share for the evening. Of course, poor George was left trying to stretch out over two divans.

Seeing the poor dog struggle to get comfortable, Dave and Christie Nasser gave up their king-size bed to the dog. They tried to get comfortable on the cushions. At home, George has his own queen-size mattress at the foot of his owners’ bed.

This Red Tibetan Mastiff breed named Big Splash is now considered to be the most expensive pet dog in the world. The 11-month-old dog was purchased by a coal baron from the north of China for a whopping $1.5 million. Big Splash or Hong Dong in Chinese is a perfect specimen according to it’s breeder, Lu Liang.

Along jewelries and cars, Red Tibetan mastiff has become a status symbol in China as a way for the rich to show off their wealth. This dog breed is an ancient descendant of animals kept by nomadic Chinese tribes. They can weigh up to 182 pounds. The heaviest was 286 pounds.

Sgt. Chris Duke, from the National Guard, and his fellow troops made good friends with some stray dogs they found while on tour in Afghanistan. Three were particularly close: Sasha, Target and Rufus.

One night, a suicide bomber was about to enter their quarters, covered in explosives. The three dogs somehow sensed the danger and defended their friends. They began barking and biting the bomber. The explosives detonated, but the only casualty was one of the dogs, Sasha.

When Duke returned home from Afghanistan, he really wanted to bring his favorite dog, Rufus. However, military regulations don't allow it. Still, he went to a veteran's assistance group called Hope for Warrior to seek help. Along with them, a Facebook group raised over $21,000 to bring the dogs stateside.

Eventually, both Rufus and Target were brought to the states and given to Duke and another soldier.

Dogs are funny things in the US. Unlike in some other countries, dogs really are part of the family for most US families. So true is this that people really consider kidney transplants for their beloved animals.

An ethical dilemma then arises: why should a healthy dog lose a kidney? If someone were to take a kidney from an ownerless dog, the dog would need to be euthanized. The solution? A transplant isn’t done unless the donor agrees to adopt the animal that gives up his or her kidney.

This is so that two lives are saved instead of one life being purchased through another’s death. Of course this only covers kidney transplants. There are other ethical dilemmas in heart transplants for example. On one hand, taking the organs from a stray that is about to be euthanized seems like nothing worth fussing over, but some feel that because the animal can’t exactly give consent, it isn’t fair to kill him or her in a healthy state just for his or her organs.

Here's another heartwarming story about dog loyalty. For the past 6 years, a German shepherd called Capitán has slept next to the grave of his owner every night at 6pm.

His owner, Miguel Guzmán died in 2006. Capitán, the dog, disappeared while the family attended the funeral services. A week later, relatives of Guzmán were visiting the cemetery when they were astounded to find the dog next to the owner's grave.

The family claims that no one had shown Capitán where the grave was. The widow says it's a mystery as to how he was able to find the grave. The cemetery director says that the dog comes around each night at 6pm, and has done so for the past 6 years!

We told you about the “one dog” that was part of the SEAL team that helped get Osama bin Laden. Now we know its name and more about it. This pup was equipped with a $30,000 waterproof tactical bullet-proof vest, complete with a high-definition night vision camera and a harness so that the dog can rappel from a helicopter with a Navy SEAL dog handler. With the harness on, Cairo could withstand a bullet from a .45 magnum or 9mm handgun. (source)

Farmers in Rhode Island were having trouble with coyotes coming in and injuring and killing their sheep. When they brought in a guard donkey to their farm, they stopped losing a single animal.

Apparently donkeys can be pretty intimidating. When a predator comes in, the sheep will rally behind the donkey. The donkey will proceed to be really loud and will pursue the predator. They will even attack them by raising their legs and striking with both feet.

In case you don't know, Vladimir Putin is the current President of Russia, and since 1999 has been either Prime Minister or President on multiple occasions.

While it's common for many presidents to own dogs (you may recall there was quite a lot of buzz about the Obamas' dog selection), Putin's use of his isn't very common.

Putin has a black Labrador Retriever named Koni.

Koni often attends staff meetings with him and is usually present when Putin greets world leaders.

She is also somewhat famous for escaping her holders to join Putin on many occasions.

In the past, Putin has had a reputation for dealing harshly with political opponents- sometimes with the help of Koni!

Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, has an apparent fear of dogs from when she was bitten as a young girl. Putin was aware of this from when he met Merkel during the time she was leader of the conservative Christian Democrats.

During discussions with Merkel, it's believed that Putin tried to gain a psychological edge by bringing Koni, who visibly unnerved her.

The funny thing is that Koni is really just a typical, food obsessed labrador who couldn't harm a fly, so it really was just Merkel's genuine fear of dogs that made her nervous.

Bluey was an Australian cattle dog born on June 7, 1910. He was owned by Les and Esma Hall and lived in Rochester, Victoria, Australia. Even though the record is unverified, he is believed to have lived until November 14, 1939 making him 29 years 6 months and 12 days old when he passed.

He is in Guinness World Records as officially being the world’s oldest dog and Guinness says the source is reliable. Australian cattle dogs are also known as blue heelers or red heelers.

They were originally bred in Australia for herding cattle over rough terrain. Thomas Hall crossed cattle dogs used in Northumberland and wild dingoes that he’d tamed to create the Australian cattle dog. After Hall died, the breed became available to the public. The dogs are very energetic, quick intelligence, and independent.

They work well under structured training so long as it is interesting and challenging to them.

Overtoun Bridge has gained media attention for the number of dogs that jump off it's side to their death. Studies show that since the 1950s and 60s at least one dog per month has jumped off of the bridge. Dogs that jump, fall 50 feet into waterfalls below the bridge. Most die, though a few have survived. When they were taken back to the bridge, they jumped off of it again!

Some consistency has been found in the phenomenon. For instance, the dogs that jump tend to have long snouts and jump from the same side of the bridge on clear days. An expert was brought in to investigate the phenomenon after the bridge received so much media attention. After examining sight, smell, and sound factors, the expert zeroed in on scent. He discovered that mice and mink were found in the undergrowth on the side of the bridge the dogs were jumping from. After experimenting he suggested that the potent odor from male mink urine was drawing the dogs to the bridge and their ultimate death.

It is known as the New Guinea Singing Dog, named for its unique howl. Presently, almost nothing is known about them in their native habitat. No photographs even exist of them in the wild. These dogs are often kept as companions because of their intelligence and physical abilities.

Like coyotes and wolves, these dogs often howl together in what is called “chorus howling.” Most of the time, the dogs howl with very good synchronization and end at the same time. Their legs and paws are much more flexible than regular dogs, to the point of being able to climb trees, albeit not as well as a fox or cat. Because of this, they are notorious escape artists.

They can climb and jump like a cat, and even get over fences as easily as squirrels. Though they generally avoid people and aren't very easy to domesticate, they're still quite a spectacle.